Myofunctional therapy is an exercise-based treatment. I teach my patients exercises that relate to tongue placement, breathing, speaking, chewing and swallowing.
My goal is to teach awareness of the oral and facial muscles. I want the tongue to rest in the right place and the mouth to stay closed. When these two simple things happen, troublesome symptoms disappear and the big picture problems around braces, speech, jaw pain and sleep apnea become much easier to treat.
When I treat patients, my focus is the airway. The tongue is a major part of the airway, but it’s actually not the first thing I look at. This is a list of all the things I look at during a myofunctional therapy examination:
- Tonsils and adenoids
- Mouth breathing vs. nasal breathing
- Where the tongue rests in the mouth
- Tongue-tie
- Orthodontic treatment
- Speech and articulation
- Jaw pain and dysfunction
- Head, neck and facial pain
- Snoring and sleep apnea
- Facial structure
- Habits such as thumb and finger sucking
As an experienced myofunctional therapist, I know how important it is to evaluate each patient’s specific symptoms and to create an individualized treatment plan for the best possible results.
Contact me today for a comprehensive evaluation or just to have a chat about your health concerns.
